Have a creative bent of mind? Opt for Graphic Designing!

By Vinay Pasricha

Imagine doing something that does not bind your freedom with too many stringent rules. A job that allows you to give full reign to your creative flair. Nothing can be more liberating than opting for creative careers where imagination drives one forward. In fact what often catches our attention more than the words or jingles used in advertisements are the interesting images used.

A creative and technical activity involving images and fonts, graphic design provides visual solutions to help communicate better and more effectively. This is why this branch of design is ruling the world of advertising supreme. From the newspapers we pick up every morning to the hoardings lining the roads, it is graphic designs that are employed to convey a message in the best way possible.

A graphic designer uses a whole lot of fonts, typography, illustrations to design for editorial and publication productions, information brochures, photography, packaging, broadcast graphics, Web and game interface design, signage and anything to do with visual forms. The crux is to use visual-thinking prowess to help clients reach out to the target audience to steer ahead of competition.

In sync with changing times, advertising mechanisms are moving away from tangible object-orientation and focusing on experimental service-related design solutions in the form of visual experiences. It is interesting but also very challenging and involves a lot of brain activity as there is nothing concrete to fall back on other than imagination. Courses in graphic design  help enthusiasts to develop their intellectual sensibility and skill, nurture creativity and enable them to create designs via multiple media. This creative course is suitable for those who are inherently good at creativity and visual communication. A lot of methodology and discipline is involved. One learns to apply critical thinking and creativity with respect to human, environmental and cultural diversity in order to come up with ideal solutions. The holistic aspect needs to be kept in mind while mastering different techniques.

Graphic design programs teach one to hone certain skills that come in handy while doing real time projects. A few things one learns are:

• In-depth knowledge of using shapes, forms, tones, textures, letters and colours to grab attention
• Study of design principles that need to be abided by while going about visual display
• To give concrete shape to thoughts in the form of visuals
• Ways to perfect one’s visual thinking skills and make it as unique as possible
• Use of common design programmes such as Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign to add finesse to an assignment and to save time
• Draw inspiration from all that is happening around and incorporate the same in one’s work
• Staying abreast of the latest technologies in the arena of graphic designing by surfing the Web or going through design magazines.

On successful completion of courses in graphic design one will be able to translate any idea into a catchy visual. However, there is more to being a graphic designer than just making images. Key responsibility areas usually include:

• Sitting with clients to understand what the aim of the project is
• Doing rough sketches before starting to design any particular logo or look
• Coordinating with the creative team comprising copywriters, photographers and Web developers to take their inputs

Besides knowing the latest design techniques to meet customer needs and to come up with novel visual solutions, graphic designers must also to learn to handle stress, criticism and failure.

About the Author:

Vinay Pasricha is the Chairman of Wigan & Leigh College (WLC), Mumbai. WLC offers Pearson BTEC qualifications in Graphic Designing.